TR Photo by LANA BRADSTREAM — Fridley Plaza 9 Theater Manager Karen Albert shows off one of the auditoriums available for free events in late October and early November. Movie theater business has slightly increased since the Marshalltown Mall power outage in November 2023. Albert and his staff have been working hard to let the public know that movie theaters are not closed and are seeing more moviegoers showing up. .
The past year has been a difficult one for Marshalltown Mall’s Fridley Plaza 9 Theater, but things are getting better.
Manager Karen Albert said business was up 50% compared to October last year and had increased significantly since November. The mall’s owner, Marshalltown Development Group, a holding company for Mike Cohan’s New York-based Cohan Retail Investment Group, had defaulted on its electricity bill. In November 2023, power was cut off in major areas such as hallways, restrooms, and parking lots. Businesses with external entrances, such as movie theaters, were able to devise ways to provide electricity and continue operating.
“We’re telling them we’re still here,” she said. “People still think malls are closed, but that’s far from the truth.”
Reminding people that Fridley is still open remains a big challenge for Albert and her staff to overcome. She said she was going to Walmart and inevitably someone would ask when it would reopen.
“I tell them we’ve never closed, even for 10 minutes,” Albert said. “That part is frustrating, but it’s dark in here so I can understand.”
A photo of Dale Paul hangs in the hallway of Fridley Plaza 9 Theater. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the release of the movie “It’s a Small World,” a free screening will be held on October 27th for the first 250 people.
Albert said that before the blackout, an average of 1,000 people would go to the theater each week.
“Right now we’re fighting to get 200 people on Friday and 400 people on Saturday,” she said. “It’s down significantly, but it’s still up from last year at this point. It’s slowly going up.”
Albert said prices have not gone up, contrary to the upward trend of inflation, which is helping keep some moviegoers coming back to Fridley.
“Once we reopen, we may be able to get better seats,” she said. “There’s too much talk right now, but the community deserves a decent seat at the table.”
Albert said theater owners would have more confidence moving forward with such improvements if the mall was under different ownership. She has not heard about her correspondence with Kohan.
Besides mall ownership and information that theaters are still open, Albert said there’s another challenge facing streaming services.
“If it’s a B-type movie, they want to see it but they don’t really, they just wait until it’s streamed,” she said. “Fortunately, they come here and buy popcorn and take it home, which is great because it also allows us to continue our business. We’re very grateful to those who have done that. It literally happens every night. I now have a large bag that’s over 300 ounces and has a zipper so it doesn’t spill in the car.”
The big movies that get the most attention sell the most tickets. Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Marshalltown native Joseph Kosinski, was a big hit for Fridley.
“That was probably a turning point for our business,” Albert said. “When Cecil’s Cafe comes out, you wouldn’t believe how many people come back to watch it again because they missed that part. It’s just a little bit of a flash. We’re trying to time it for them and give them a heads up. I told you to do it.”
special events
As a result of slower business growth, the theater will be holding special events on October 27th and November 2nd.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the release of the Warner Bros. film “It’s a Small World,” starring Dale Paulin, a Marshalltown native known by his stage name Paul Dale, who passed away in 2016. One of Fridley’s auditoriums will be rented, and the first 256 people on Oct. 27 will be able to watch the movie for free, Albert said.
“It’s first come, first served. If I remember correctly, there was a little introduction by Dale himself on his 93rd birthday,” she said. “We’re going to have a table with his memorabilia. It’s a big deal. I didn’t know him personally, but I know a lot of other people did. I know.”
The Christmas comedy-drama “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” will also be screened for free. Albert said New Hope Church purchased one of its auditoriums and offered free movies to the first 250 people for the Nov. 2 premiere.
She elaborated further on “The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever” and said that the children appearing in the film are actors that people have never seen before. The presence of unknown actors on Fridley’s screens is a trend Albert has noticed recently.
“There are a lot of new actors and I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.
There are also plans to screen family movies for $2 starting November 29th. Albert said the discounts only apply to certain movies and on certain days. Details are still being finalized.
“We haven’t done something like that for a while, but with the economy the way it is… we have nine screens and we want to take advantage of that and create something special for the community.” There’s no reason why you can’t do that,” she said. “We’re excited to bring this to the community and give people a more affordable way to come see movies.”
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611, ext. 210 or [email protected].
- TR Photo by LANA BRADSTREAM — Fridley Plaza 9 Theater Manager Karen Albert shows off one of the auditoriums available for free events in late October and early November. Movie theater business has slightly increased since the Marshalltown Mall power outage in November 2023. Albert and his staff have been working hard to let the public know that movie theaters are not closed and are seeing more moviegoers showing up. .
- A photo of Dale Paul hangs in the hallway of Fridley Plaza 9 Theater. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the release of the movie “It’s a Small World,” a free screening will be held on October 27th for the first 250 people.
